Woolworths
has approached the competition regulator about its planned acquisition of a portfolio of pubs that would make it the largest hotelier in NSW.

The group’s hotel arm, the ALH Group joint venture with
Bruce Mathieson
, has advanced its due diligence to buy a portfolio of leasehold hotels from the state’s largest private publican, the Laundy Hotel Group.

The Laundy group owns about 47 hotels and has until tomorrow to finalise its purchase of the freehold and leasehold of 20 pubs being sold by the listed National Leisure & Gaming and Redcape Property Fund for about $330 million within an exclusivity period.

The 20 NLG-run hotels Laundy Group is planning to buy in NSW include the Hotel Willoughby, the Eastwood Hotel, the Old Cortez, the Mount Annan Hotel, the Cremorne Hotel and the Livingstone Hotel.

The Woolworths/ALH joint venture would then acquire the long-term operation of the hotels. The Laundy family would retain the freeholds.

The leaseholds of about 24 Laundy-owned hotels would also be sold to Woolworths.

The Laundy family would keep the freeholds of these pubs, as well as a private portfolio.

NLG and the Laundy group are two of the largest pub operators in NSW and the move represents an opportunity for Woolworths and ALH to lift their share in the state where they are under-represented with about 20 properties.

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Woolworths, ALH and the Laundy family have declined to confirm or deny the discussions, which started about six months ago. “Our position is always that we’ll look at good properties in good locations," an ALH spokesman said.

Property executives said that, while details remained under wraps, Woolworths and ALH had all but completed their due diligence on both the NLG and Laundy pubs and had gone to the competition regulator for approval.

“The ACCC is aware of reports about possible acquisitions and if we decide a public review is necessary it will be posted up on the register on our website," a spokesman said.

The competition regulator would seek submissions from interested parties once the deal was announced.

The news comes in the wake of the Andrew Wilkie-led joint select committee on gambling reform releasing a report calling for mandatory pre-commitment for poker machine players.

Industry players are awaiting a response from the Council of Australian Governments meeting on Friday. NSW and Victoria are likely to voice concerns about the proposed system.